What’s the buzz with haptic feedback?

Have you ever noticed your phone vibrate as you’re navigating around the keyboard? Many of us spot this when we take our new phone out of its box, but we quickly become accustomed to it and usually forget it’s there.

What you might be surprised to learn is that the little vibrations from your Xperia™ device make a big difference to your overall mobile experience.

These small vibrations are what we call haptics, or haptic feedback.

Haptic feedback, in the first instance, is there to let you know you’ve tapped a button. It works to provide the same sort of response as your computer keyboard and mouse do when they audibly click upon pressing them. When it comes to smartphones, we rely on this clever Android function to know that our device has registered our actions as we navigate around our phones.

As well as acknowledging your movements, haptic feedback is really useful for developers. The development team behind Xperia smartphones are able to access the hardware controller, meaning they can make adjustments as required. Essentially, they can tweak and customise how various applications work to your touch.

With Sony’s Xperia range, we have taken this one step further…

You might already be familiar with the Dynamic Vibration System (DVS) in your handset. This function uses haptic technology to offer an immersive entertainment experience for videos, games and music. Inspired by Sony’s PlayStation® DUALSHOCK® controller system, the haptics in DVS will vibrate as you watch a rocket launch into space on YouTube; crash your supercar on a racing game or launch Angry Birds at the enemies.

In addition, the application programming interface (API) in your Xperia allows app developers to control the DVS and, in turn, improve the experience for you.

So next time your phone vibrates as you unlock it, you know it’s a friendly nod of acknowledgement working to improve your mobile experience.